My subway card, 1977, Stockholm #potatonose

Mitt älskade Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) 35-kronorskort från 1977. Halva priset jämfört med 70-kronorskortet som vuxna fick betala för. Tjockt lager med månadsklistermärken. Jag hade ett extra kort som jag mekade med för att komma in på klubbar som minderåriga i årskurs 11/12 i Vancouver. Jag pratade bara svenska och de släppte in mig! — —…

Fredrik Strömberg: journalist, author and academic

    In English: Journal sketch of Fredrik Strömberg [drawn from his selfie as he stands in the Comics Archives – Seriearkivet in Malmö, Sweden.] As I reflect on this wild rollercoaster ride of the past year since Summer 2024, I pause at the  extraordinary experience of attending STOCKHOLMS INTERNATIONELLA SERIEFESTIVAL 2025 (SIS25) back on May 24-25,…

Today – June 12 – holds personal significance for me

Today holds personal significance for me. June 12th marks the birthday of Joseph O’Dwyer, the main character in my graphic novel, Salt Green Death (Conundrum Press, 2025). His patient file is the main source for the project. Joseph was born on June 12, 1926 (99 years ago) in Cashel, Ireland. The journey of bringing this…

Store window, Gamla Stan, Stockholm. A study

I came across a wonderful little shop in June 2019. Slow Fox Förlag Antikvariatet. Själagårdsgatan 9c, Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden. And I think about the store window ALOT. A study using Chinamarker, white acrylic ink, watercolour wash added using Caitlin ffrench’s wildcrafted pigments © KATARINA THORSEN    

For my aunt Siv

These two women- my great aunt Helga, and my aunt Siv, had the most compassionate impact on my life. Helga- she taught me to follow my heart- MY HEART. Mine. Siv- she taught me to stay neutral and in joy and embrace children as fully formed human beings to be celebrated, not moulded. I remember…

Man klarar sig i många år på ett ögonblick…

Just a few moments from this past week. I was gifted 3 very special, very moving, very private days in Stockholm. It was about family, about grieving, about celebrating, about the city. Man klarar sig i många år på ett ögonblick… – Kalle Moraeus, Sommar Pratarna, SVT24 [You can survive many years on a moment]…

We were drawn together on Saturday- and now I know why…

I love family.  And we have shared so much- all the life markers, the ups and downs of life and through it all there is that special glue that connects us. We had an impromptu get together at my place on Saturday- somehow ALL of us (niece, nephew, brothers, sister in laws, daughter, son, daughter…